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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23248855">Dearest Lady</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/titillating_commentary/pseuds/titillating_commentary'>titillating_commentary</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My Playfellow, My Companion, My More Than Sister [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Frankenstein - Mary Shelley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Childhood Friends to Lovers, Could Be Canon, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Justine is a loving and tender top, Loss of Virginity, POV Female Character, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Short &amp; Sweet, They have a soft and good time, Vaginal Fingering, Victor is an oblivious and unreliable narrator who doesn't know shit, wlw</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:53:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,706</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23248855</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/titillating_commentary/pseuds/titillating_commentary</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Elizabeth, what’s wrong?” she asked, sternly, and Elizabeth felt almost silly for having attempted to conceal her tears. She looked into Justine’s eyes, her gaze unwavering yet gentle, and felt compelled to confess her thoughts.<br/>“Justine,” she said, shifting her eyes away from the intensity of her gaze, to stare vacantly at the wall behind her. “How do you know if you love someone?”</p><p>Or, as Elizabeth despairs of truly holding Victor’s affection, she realizes that perhaps the person who makes her the happiest isn’t her fiancé, but her maid.</p><p>- the one with violets on her lap</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Elizabeth Lavenza/Justine Moritz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>My Playfellow, My Companion, My More Than Sister [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671580</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dearest Lady</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>“‘Justine has returned to us; and I assure you I love her tenderly. She is very clever and gentle, and extremely pretty; as I mentioned before’” - Shelley</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a year, to the day, since she’d last heard from him.<br/>
Elizabeth had realized this, slowly, throughout the morning. Checking the day off her calendar, she walked past his empty childhood bedroom, downstairs to where the day’s mail was neatly stacked.<br/>
And there was still no word from him.<br/>
She shouldn’t be surprised, she supposed. He had always been such a private individual, and now that he was at college, he probably had a life filled with excitement and in pursuit of greater knowledge.<br/>
And yet, that he had sent no word to her for a year now stung like a slap on the cheek.<br/>
She shouldn’t take it so personally, she tried to reason to herself; no one at the house had, and his father and Clerval missed him just as much as she.<br/>
But, she had thought that she’d meant more to him than the others. They’d been such close childhood friends, and now unofficially engaged for some years; she’d presumed he would have thought to write.<br/>
Perhaps, she found herself thinking, perhaps she truly didn’t mean that much to him. Perhaps his studies had truly consumed him, perhaps he was simply distracted by new life at the college, but no matter what, his silence to her for so long meant that she simply wasn’t his priority.<br/>
She felt tears prick at her eyes as she sifted through the day’s letters. She set them down quickly and turned back up the stairs to her room, not wanting to lose her composure in the public space of the hallway.<br/>
She sat down on the edge of her bed, pressing her dressing gown against her eyes.<br/>
She wouldn’t let this tear her apart. She had engagements to attend to today, as she did all days; she couldn’t let herself lose her head so drastically.<br/>
Still, the lingering hurt clouded her head and wet her cheeks.<br/>
“Lady Elizabeth?”<br/>
She turned, wiping her eyes, to find Justine standing in her doorway.<br/>
“Hello,” she breathed out, trying to conceal her emotion with a forced laugh.<br/>
Justine was clearly unconvinced by her facade of happiness. She quickly set down the small breakfast tray on Elizabeth’s bedside table, locking the bedroom door behind her.<br/>
Elizabeth shifted as Justine sat down next to her, and took her pale, slender hands in her warm, calloused ones.<br/>
“Elizabeth, what’s wrong?” she asked, sternly, and Elizabeth felt almost silly for having attempted to conceal her tears. She looked into Justine’s eyes, her gaze unwavering yet gentle, and felt compelled to confess her thoughts.<br/>
“Justine,” she said, shifting her eyes away from the intensity of her gaze, to stare vacantly at the wall behind her. “How do you know if you love someone?”<br/>
Justine seemed somewhat taken aback, but didn’t avert her gaze.<br/>
“Is this about Victor?” she asked, her voice low. Elizabeth nodded, blinking hard as her thoughts raced.<br/>
“Do you know how to tell, when you’re in love? I thought that I knew, but now...” she drifted off, her mind replaying the years she had known him, had gotten along with him, all the while never truly feeling that she knew him, and certainly not trusting him to confide in her.<br/>
“I think, now, that I don’t love him. And,” she said, still forming the thought in her mind. “And perhaps I never did.”<br/>
Justine didn’t move to answer, only still gazing at her, shocked at her outburst. Elizabeth flushed pink as she realized what she had said.<br/>
“I’m sorry-” she began to take back her hands from Justine’s, making to stand. “It’s of no matter, I’m sorry to have bothered you-“<br/>
“Elizabeth,” Justine said, her grip tightening on Elizabeth’s hands, forcing her to sit still.<br/>
“It’s of great matter, if it’s affected you so,” Justine breathed, her voice feather-light, and she brought a hand to Elizabeth’s face to gently wipe away a tear. Elizabeth attempted a half-hearted laugh, smiling sadly at her own sorrows.<br/>
“Victor is a prick,” Justine said simply, eliciting a real snort of laughter from Elizabeth, who shook her head half-heartedly.<br/>
“He can certainly act as one, yes,” she agreed, still laughing.<br/>
Justine smiled, though something Elizabeth couldn’t quite place was held in her eyes.<br/>
“Victor doesn’t deserve you,” she murmured, her voice airy once again, as she absentmindedly rubbed her thumb along the tender skin of Elizabeth’s inner wrist. Her touch was warm and welcome.<br/>
“He doesn’t, won’t, appreciate your brilliance, your kindness,” Justine trailed off, flicking up her eyes to meet Elizabeth’s.<br/>
Her breath caught in her throat at the sincerity of her words, and the strange intensity in her eyes.<br/>
Justine smiled, and pulled her hands back from Elizabeth’s.<br/>
“You deserve someone who will make you happy, not bring you tears,” she said, standing.<br/>
Suddenly feeling an immense loss at her absence, Elizabeth reached out for Justine’s hand again. Justine started, surprised at her touch, but didn’t pull away.<br/>
“You make me happy, Justine.”<br/>
The heat of Justine’s hand in hers was newly and wonderfully intoxicating. Elizabeth gently traced her thumb along her wrist, as Justine had done to her before, enjoying the faint rhythm of her pulse.<br/>
“Elizabeth, I-” Justine’s voice broke, as she looked down at her with a strange sadness that almost brought her to tears once more. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”<br/>
“I’m sure I don’t,” Elizabeth murmured, her gaze fixed once more on her hands; the rough callous of her well-worked fingers giving way to the delicate pale skin of her wrist. Elizabeth gently brought her lips against the base of her hand, and Justine shuddered.<br/>
She let go of her hand, surprised at Justine’s reaction. She cast her eyes up to meet Justine’s, in silent apology. Justine’s eyes were dark, her mouth slightly open, and her breath coming quick and light.<br/>
“Elizabeth,” she whispered, bringing her hand across her cheek, brushing back a stray curl of auburn hair.<br/>
Elizabeth herself was surprised to find her heartbeat quickening at this, to desperately want to lean into her careful touch.<br/>
“All I want is for you to be happy,” Justine murmured, her voice low, as she brushed the hair behind Elizabeth’s ear, her fingertips continuing to trace a line down her neck to her collarbone.<br/>
Elizabeth’s eyes fluttered shut, her heart’s palpitating rhythm becoming so strong to her that she was sure Justine could hear it.<br/>
She opened her eyes as Justine’s hand came to rest under her chin, gently tilting her face up. Justine’s face was so close to hers now, those warm brown eyes searching into her very soul.<br/>
Her thumb traced her lower lip. Elizabeth shivered.<br/>
“My lady,” she whispered, and Elizabeth felt the heat of her breath on her lips. “May I kiss you?”<br/>
Her breath caught in her throat, hearing the words aloud. Yet she found herself nodding, sliding her hands up Justine’s shoulders to meet around her neck, as their lips brushed together.<br/>
She began entwining her fingers into Justine’s hair, as their chaste pecks soon grew deeper, more passionate, desperate to address something newly awakened in Elizabeth.<br/>
So this was the spark that was missing between her and Victor, she thought, as she fell back against the mattress, led by Justine’s guiding hands around her waist. She was filled with a desperate desire to meet their skin wherever she could.<br/>
Justine parted from her, and Elizabeth opened her mouth to complain, when she was silenced by the feel of her warm lips nestled against the hollow of her neck; Justine pressing tender open-mouthed kisses against the pale skin.<br/>
A gasp was wrenched from her breast at the sensation of Justine’s teeth gently nipping at the spot where her neck met the slope of her shoulder.<br/>
Justine parted from her, breathing heavily, tracing her fingers against the skin of Elizabeth’s flushed cheeks.<br/>
“You are so beautiful,” she whispered, placing a chaste kiss to the tip of her nose.<br/>
Elizabeth smiled, tilting Justine’s chin to join their lips together once again. Justine’s hands wandered down her face and shoulders, gingerly settling at her waist. Elizabeth desperately wished for Justine’s calloused hands to wander further along her body.<br/>
“Justine,” she whimpered, as Justine pressed small, quick pecks against her cheeks. Elizabeth was unsure of how to express her desires, unsure of what they even were. She enclosed one of Justine’s hands, which hovered at her waist, in her own, and pressed it to her waist more firmly. The cotton fabric of her dressing gown rubbed against her skin as Justine dug her fingertips into the swell of her hips.<br/>
“Dearest lady,” Justine sighed against her lips. Elizabeth’s breath fell quick and light in her chest, lost as she was in the feeling of Justine’s thumbs running against her sides.<br/>
She slid her own hand to her throat, unclasping the first button of her high collar. Justine inhaled sharply, parting from Elizabeth to rest her forehead against hers.<br/>
“I would be happy to assist you,” she purred. “Should you like me to.”<br/>
Justine’s eyes were so close to her own. She had never noticed before how her brown eyes held flecks of orange and gold.<br/>
She smiled, shyly, averting her eyes away from the overwhelming intensity of her gaze.<br/>
“I...” she swallowed, shifting underneath her. “I think I would.”<br/>
Justine smiled broadly, seeming almost giddy at the prospect. Elizabeth giggled, running her hands through Justine’s curls and joining her mouth to her own, as Justine brought her hands to her throat.<br/>
Her fingers brushed against her clavicle, the upper skin of her breasts, as she began to carefully unbutton her high-waisted sleeping gown. Elizabeth sighed, arching her back into her feather-light touch.<br/>
Justine leaned back, still smiling widely, though Elizabeth couldn’t help feeling put out by loss of her touch.<br/>
“Sweet lady,” she breathed, tracing her fingers down her neck, her collarbone, the valley between her breasts, slightly parting the high collar of her gown. Elizabeth’s eyes fluttered closed, her breath hitching at the cool air that now met her delicate skin, and the delicious feeling now settling low in her stomach.<br/>
Justine leaned over her once again, pressing her mouth against the hollow of her neck, traveling down the path her fingertips had already traced. Elizabeth continued to twist her curls through her fingers, arching into the warm lips skimming across her flesh.<br/>
A soft moan escaped her as Justine let her teeth graze the tender skin of her breast, and she dug her fingers into her scalp.<br/>
Justine glanced up to Elizabeth’s flushed face, biting her lip, fingering the seam of the gown. Elizabeth smiled serenely up at her. Justine grinned, and dragged the thin cotton aside, revealing the swell of her breasts, her waist, her stomach, before the taut fabric at her hips hid her from her sight.<br/>
Elizabeth’s heart fluttered as Justine placed a gentle kiss against her upper breast. She fought to contain her gasp at the intoxicating feeling of her warm, wet mouth pressed against her.<br/>
“Dearest Elizabeth,” she sighed against her skin, pausing between languid kisses. “You are too beautiful, too heavenly sweet,” she whispered, almost too soft for Elizabeth to hear, running her hands across her chest.<br/>
Elizabeth whined, pressing her wonderful mouth closer to her bosom, bucking her hips slightly at the sight of Justine’s careful mouth trailing against her.<br/>
Justine’s fanned her fingers across her stomach, gliding over her smooth skin to grab at her waist. Elizabeth, somewhat frantically, slid her hands down Justine’s back, grasping at the ties of her bodice, desperate to remove it, but ineffective in her pursuits.<br/>
Justine pulled back and sat on her knees. Laughing, she caught Elizabeth’s hands in her own.<br/>
“That’s not necessary, my lady,” she said, almost chiding.<br/>
Elizabeth frowned, wriggling her hands out of Justine’s grip, sitting up and continuing to reach behind her to untie her apron.<br/>
“I want to touch you,” she confided, looking up, suddenly feeling grossly inexperienced at Justine’s chastising look.<br/>
Justine bit her lip, her gaze softening. Elizabeth felt a swell of victory as Justine allowed her to pull her apron away from her, to toss it thoughtlessly onto the floor, though she was miffed at the realization of how many more layers Justine was wearing.<br/>
Justine placed her hands on Elizabeth’s bare waist, running them lightly upwards, to settle underneath her breasts. Elizabeth shivered, involuntary, and reached up to bring Justine’s face to hers once more.<br/>
Justine continued her light petting, running her hands along her sides, as Elizabeth began to unlace the ties of Justine’s outer skirt.<br/>
Reaching underneath to untie her petticoat, Elizabeth began to drag the heavy skirts off Justine’s hips. Her hands, slipping under the skirts, skimmed the cotton of her shift. Curious, she grasped at Justine’s full curves, and was delighted by the gasp it elicited.<br/>
“Elizabeth,” Justine panted, removing her hands from Elizabeth’s waist to help her pull off the two skirts. They, too, were discarded, and Justine was now before her in just a shift and bodice.<br/>
Her hair was mussed, dark curls falling to frame her flushed face. She was beautiful and breathless, looking down at Elizabeth through long lashes.<br/>
She licked her lips, and reached out, running her fingertips from Elizabeth’s navel to her breasts, dancing along the smooth skin. Elizabeth tilted her head back, eyes closing, and she soon felt Justine’s mouth nuzzling her neck, gently nipping at the fragile skin.<br/>
Elizabeth moaned softly, fumbling with the front ties of Justine’s bodice, but too distracted by the exquisite sensations Justine’s mouth brought her to be effective.<br/>
Justine’s careful fingers traveled downwards, delicately caressing her stomach. Elizabeth trembled, breathing heavily, and grabbed at Justine’s hips to steady herself.<br/>
“My lady,” Justine’s breath was warm against her neck, her voice sounding darker than she’d ever heard it.<br/>
“Would you like me to continue?”<br/>
She played with the button at her hips, brushing against her skin, waiting for her response.<br/>
“Yes,” Elizabeth breathed, her head lilting to the side. “Please.”<br/>
Justine grinned against her neck, kissing it lightly as she quickly unclasped the remaining buttons. Elizabeth let her lead the garment off her shoulders, and to guide her to recline her back onto the bed. She looked through half-lidded eyes to see Justine gazing down at her with unabashed desire.<br/>
Slowly, languidly, Justine trailed a finger down her middle, starting at her collarbone, and traveling down, only to stop at her navel.<br/>
Elizabeth bucked her hips slightly, desperate for the touch Justine was so clearly intentionally denying her. Justine chuckled at her attempt.<br/>
“Patience, love,” she chided, tapping her stomach.<br/>
Elizabeth huffed, and sat up, reaching out for the ties of Justine’s bodice. Justine tutted, grabbing Elizabeth’s wrists.<br/>
Elizabeth twisted out of her grasp, returning to her work and smirking up at Justine.<br/>
“If you’re going to make me wait,” she hummed, pulling at the ribbons and loosing the garment, revealing her enticing curves, “I may as well enjoy myself.”<br/>
Elizabeth placed a kiss against the warm, supple skin of her upper breasts as she finished loosing the ties. Justine sighed, weaving her fingers through her hair. Elizabeth slid the thick straps off of Justine’s shoulders, leaving her in only her thin cotton shift.<br/>
The white collar dipped low on her chest, and she was warm and inviting. Elizabeth nuzzled against her soft skin, pressing her mouth against her. She gently nipped at her breast, and delighted in the soft gasp it elicited and the faint mark it left on her skin.<br/>
“Elizabeth,” Justine panted, tilting her face back to look at her. “Lie back.”<br/>
A victorious smile slid across Elizabeth’s lips, and she reclined against the bed.<br/>
She supposed she should be bashful at being so exposed, but the way Justine looked at her made her heart race and all doubt fade away.<br/>
Justine bit her lip, and ran her light touch up the soft skin of her thighs. Elizabeth shivered, her eyes fluttering closed.<br/>
She leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to each of her knees. Elizabeth sucked in a breath as her lips crested the curve of her thigh, her hand gently nudging her knees apart. Elizabeth cried out softly as she felt Justine’s lips, Justine’s tongue against the hollow of her hip. Her breath was ragged, her chest heaving.<br/>
Justine flicked her eyes upwards to meet her gaze. She sat up, tracing circles on the sensitive skin of her inner thighs, drawing her legs slightly further apart.<br/>
She reached up, and lightly ran a single finger against her. Elizabeth let out a long, shuddering gasp, her head falling back. Justine shifted her hand, her touch becoming more direct, gently stroking her.<br/>
She flicked against something that made her legs tense and her hips jerk. Elizabeth squeaked, pressing a hand to her mouth in shock.<br/>
Wide-eyed and panting, she looked at Justine in bewilderment. “What,” she breathed.<br/>
Justine chuckled. “Oh, my sweet lady,” she whispered, knowingly, and rubbed the same spot again. Elizabeth moaned and rolled her hips into her hand, somewhat unaware of her own responses.<br/>
“Do you enjoy this, my lady?” Justine murmured against her ear, lightly catching the lobe between her teeth.<br/>
“Yes,” Elizabeth whined, her breath uneven as Justine continued her wonderful caresses, continued kissing her throat.<br/>
Elizabeth gasped as Justine’s finger slipped inside her. She arched her back, and dug her nails into Justine’s scalp, frantically searching for some purchase to combat the all-encompassing weightlessness she now felt.<br/>
She cried out as her finger crooked inside her, and Justine smirked against her skin. She pulled out, returning to stroke against the spot that sent continual shudders through her.<br/>
“Justine,” she keened, grabbing at her hair, at her hips, trying to release the tension that was rapidly building inside her.<br/>
Justine raised her head, her eyes half-lidded and dark. She pressed a kiss against her open mouth.<br/>
“It’s alright, love,” she murmured, beginning to move her hand faster against her.<br/>
Elizabeth drew in a shuddering breath, shaking at the enormity of sensations washing over her, the intensity of Justine’s gaze. She bucked her hips against her hand, desperate for some sort of release for the strange pressure she felt building inside her.<br/>
A large gasp was suddenly wrenched from her breast as her thighs closed around Justine’s hand. Her eyes flew shut, and she sucked in fast breaths as Justine whispered some comforting words she couldn’t quite hear, running her free hand up and down her waist.<br/>
She clung to her shoulders, her breath gradually beginning to slow. Justine slowly removed her hand, dragging her slick fingers up against her stomach; the cool trail causing Elizabeth to shiver.<br/>
Justine stared at her face, a small smile playing across her lips. She reached up to trace Elizabeth’s lower lip, a strange tartness now coating her mouth. Elizabeth let out a long breath, her heart slowly returning to its regular rhythm.<br/>
Justine looked into her eyes, still smiling faintly. Elizabeth grinned, and caught her lips in a slow, languid kiss.<br/>
Justine parted from her, resting her forehead against hers.<br/>
“How do you feel, Elizabeth?”<br/>
Elizabeth laughed, breathily, closing her eyes. “I’ve never been better.”<br/>
The immediacy of her desire to join Justine’s skin to hers had waned as her breath returned to her, but it was still blissful to feel her hands at her sides, her thumbs brushing their caresses against her.<br/>
She wanted to lie like this, drowsy yet sated, with Justine’s wonderful hands tracing small circles at her waist, forever.<br/>
So she whined in complaint when Justine placed a chaste kiss against her temple, then stood up.<br/>
Justine laughed at her noise, and squeezed her hand before she knelt, collecting her discarded skirts.<br/>
Elizabeth propped herself up on unsteady elbows. “What are you doing?”<br/>
Justine smiled sadly, threading her arms through her stays. “I have to return to work, my lady.”<br/>
Elizabeth felt panic seize her at the idea of Justine leaving her, of Justine re-donning the clothes she had worked so tirelessly to remove from her.<br/>
“As your lady, I command you to stay,” she attempted to demand, though her voice wavered slightly.<br/>
Justine cocked an eyebrow, incredulous at her request. Elizabeth suddenly felt self-conscious in the face of Justine’s unflappable confidence.<br/>
“Please don’t go,” she whispered, reaching for her hands, lacing their fingers together.<br/>
“I don’t want to leave,” Justine confided, stepping closer to press a kiss against her hair. “But I have my duties, as do you.”<br/>
Elizabeth’s mind raced, searching for some excuse to keep Justine here, with her. It seemed hopeless, until she alighted on the perfect, ridiculous justification.<br/>
“You can’t leave,” she said, bringing her calloused hands near to her mouth. “For I am simply beside myself that Victor has not written.”<br/>
Justine guffawed, which quickly became a sharp inhale as Elizabeth pressed a kiss to her inner wrist.<br/>
“I’ve taken to my rooms,” she said against the blue veins lacing under her delicate skin. “I will not see anyone but my favorite maid for the whole day.”<br/>
Justine smiled, a conspiratorial look in her beautiful eyes. Elizabeth reached up to her shoulders, and Justine let her lead the bodice off of her once more.<br/>
Elizabeth stood, flush against Justine, whose hands instinctively encircled her waist. She reached up to her neck, and tilted her head up to meet Justine’s, for a gentle, passionate kiss that sent her heart quickening anew.<br/>
She parted from her, smiling widely.<br/>
“I’ll dress,” Elizabeth whispered against her lips. “I’ll tell the house of my horrible state.”<br/>
Justine laughed, pressing a quick peck to her mouth.<br/>
“And after...” Elizabeth mused, leaning back slightly to trace a finger down her neck, her shoulders, her clavicle. She flicked her eyes up to meet Justine as she trailed off, playing suggestively with the collar of her shift.<br/>
“I would like that,” Justine whispered, and Elizabeth shivered as she rubbed her hands against her bare waist.<br/>
They parted, eventually, and Elizabeth was hastily helped back into her night dress.<br/>
She felt strangely giddy, and yet contented in a way she had never felt before, as she padded down the plushly carpeted hallway. Her stomach fluttered in anticipatory delight at the prospect of a day, unbothered, in the arms of Justine.</p>
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